[30/December/2003] There is a Greek old proverb says : “ if you want to see Greece very well you should go to Cicely . That was a hyperbole proverb , but the fact is that “ if you want to see Yemen very well you should go
to the governorate of Ibb “.

Certainly you couldn’t help but contemplating how the Almighty did make mosaic of monuments and humankinds in this place of the Earth .

Though humankinds , history and the antiquities manifest that they’re segment of the Republic , traveling to Ibb from any other governorate make you feel at the first sight that what is linking it with the whole is the geography merely and nothing rather than that.


This governorate is proud of its green dress and our liberal lady Bilqis the second (Queen Arwa Bent Ahmed) it is still filled with treasures and it is considered to be a living museum and excavation activities show that Ibb is eventually represent an important link in the nation’ s memory.

In your different pauses during your tour in the governorate of Ibb , you can hear your host telling you , even if he was upset , this is Djibbla i.e the ( city ) , this is Dhaffar and this is the old city of Ibb ,its old temples and Hammams (baths ) and other antiquities represent a precious open museum talks to you about the few brilliant moment in our history and how the man here was dreaming to reach to all edges in order to make of it a home , but the enemy’s swards did not leave room for them , perhaps you might be haunted with real fear as if you are beleaguered by the sward’s crackling in a narrow route which your host described it to you.

From your host’s speech you can also realize the greatness of that human who was able to see more far beyond the sward he was carrying and how he constituted a homeland does not know the humiliation , then he turned to the security and hope to have a land to farm it and a wife to rest to her.

If you woke up late in the City of Ibb , you would not see that usual contingent of the people in the streets and restaurants in particular.

When we kicked of our tour in the streets of the city late in the morning , we entered the restaurant and were being alone since the city seemed to be quieter than any other countryside .

This is not a morning after a hot festival because signals aren’t apparent, but it is a complete silence without the flowers sellers . our companion was talking to justify the unusual silence of the city saying “ The City of Ibb always crowded and its streets are brimful of life .. every day is not devoid of traffic accident due to mini-busses traffic mistakes.

You’ll hear the calls of the streets traders through magnifiers , and from the traditional zones alight vapors spray from different places where restaurants used to serve kebab .

The governorate of Ibb bears the stamp of the main Yemeni cities such as Sana’a , Taiz , Aden and Hodeida but is less open , however it is the second electoral contingent in the country following the governorate of Taiz and that is what makes it of a political weigh as similar as of the American Florida for the politician rivals .

When you arrive in the city of Ibb , you have to walk on the old path which will lead you to the summit, where the city sets on top of plateau ,of course , you’ll not stray as it happened to you when you toured the old city of Sana’a for the first time.

For enjoyment, you can head towards the right side though one of the zones where the path starts to raise up towards the Great Mosque which its building age dated back to the reign of the Muslims khalifa Ommer Iben Al-khatab.

Then , follow up your touring through the narrow streets of the old market in a semicircular shape and try to review the architectural style of the city’s buildings which characterized by unique decorations beautify the buildings’ s facades which often consists of 5-6 stories .

The old city of Ibb had flourished during the Ottoman’ s ruling and it is reputed to be one of the important tourist sites in the governorate and of the significant Yemeni cities which established in the Islamic era .

On the high plateau of the western side of Ba’adan’ s mountain the city fell asleep quietly as if it pillows the feather , Princess in the heart of Ibb governorate while the mountain of Ba’adan in the East looks like as if he is its strong body guard as the same as the Qasyoun of the Damascus .

What you might do when you’re with an appointment with the greatness , with the history where the waves of the construction that led from there by the ancient Kings and Queens like the Great King Assa’ad Al-k!mil and Queen Arwa bent Ahmed Al-Solyhi .

What you might do where the fear of the randomly incursion of the cement’s constructions upon the old splendor and the entrancing and captivating cenary . Cities , events , temples , old schools and buildings crowned with decorations. Mixture of cities and generations in a narrow peace of land.

The sheikhs of Ibb told you how their city was and how its dwellers had chosen this plateau which is improper for agriculture to be place for the city , then its buildings has increased to encroach its fertile lands .

Bilqis the second (Queen Arwa) .
When we had left the old city of Ibb we didn’t know that we would have an appointment in the afternoon with the capital of the Solyhade state that ruled Yemen over the period 1047-1138. A.D. Djibbla .. the ambiguous city , which is rich in its treasures and infatuated in its Queen (Arwa) who defied the risks and faced serious challenges however she had managed to get ride of all of them in an unparallel success .

Djibblah which was called the city of the two rivers erected on a high hill located between tow rivers , even though , as the inhabitants of the Djibblah say “ the dog doesn’t enter the city until it washes its legs “ .

The history of the city attributed to the Solyhade State which had dominated the whole of Yemen. The founder of this state was Mohammed Ben Ali Al-Solyhi .

This leader had begun his political preach in the region of Haraz , northwestern of Yemen then he managed to take control over all parts of Yemen , even though , his domination had spanned from Huddramout to Mecca and from Aden to Sa’ada .
sabanet,exclusive